Contour curb



United States Patent [72} Inventors Edward H. Biddison 212 Woodland Ave,Summit, 07901; Frank G. Cac0ssa,,93 Martin Road Livingston, New Jersey07039 [Zl] Appl. No. 763,660 1 [22] Filed Sept. 30,1968 [45] Patented0ct.13, 1970 [54] CONTOUR CURB 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

52 use] .1 94/31,'

188/32 [51] Int.Cl .1 1. E01c1l/22 [50] Field ofSearch 94/1 .5, 31;256/1311188/32 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,954,1019/1960 Corson .1 188/32 3,326,099 6/1967 Cova 94/31 PrimaryExaminer-Jacob L. Nackenoff Anurney-Towson Price ABSTRACT: A contourcurb especially for motor vehicles comprising, a series of blocks, meansholding a surface of one block in engagement with the near surface ofthe adjacent block,'and tying all ofthe blocks in the series together asa unit including, two metal wires the ends of which pass through holesin metal plates, engaging abutments on the blocks at contour a speciallydesign of block for said curb, and means for holding other such elementsin assembled relation.

Patented Oct. 13, 1970 3,533,335

INVENTORS EDWARD H. BI'DDISON FRANK G. CACOSSA BY ATTORNEY CONTOUR CURBSETTING AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION The invention relates in general toprotective devices and pertains more particularly to a surface bumperdevice adapted to operate as a stop or barrier for vehicles.

Specifically, we provide preformed, rigid units of suitable material,such as concrete, adapted for convenient, removable, replacable andshiftable installations against, and to upstand from, the ground surfaceof various locations. Places of use include parking lots, loading docksand the like, where the units function as bumpers limitative of vehicletravel. The invention also has as an object to provide improved bumperswhich may also be used as boundry markers, to outline ditches and fordecorative purposes.

Many attempts have been made to find a substitute for the fixed curbsused along the edges ofstreets and driveways. One has used short lengthof prefabricated curb blocks made from concrete and held in place byconcrete oozing into downwardly-opening recesses in the lower facesthereof, as they are pressed into place. Another idea, especially foruse in garages and parking lots, is the use of cast saddles holdingwooden barrier rails and, in turn, held in place by pins or spikesdriven into the base through openings in laterally disposed ears. Theuse of upwardly tapering concrete, blocks held by headed spikes driventhrough tubes incorporated in said blocks has also been suggested, aswell as bumpers of metal and rubber. Our invention is believed toinvolve improvements over all such devices in the prior art.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved formed, removable,replacable and shiftable bumper device formed mainly of similar concreteelements and characterized by positive vehicle-arresting propertiesavailable with a minimum of shock or damage to the vehicle restrainedthereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved preformedbumper susceptible of operative installation in a desired position ofusewith a minimum oflaborand expense.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved preformedbumper adapted for expedient removal from an installed position of usewith a minimum of effort and expense and without occasion for reworkingof the area previously occupied thereby.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedmultipart preformed bumper device particularly adapted forprefabrication from readily-available materials with facility andeconomy.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved andpreformed bumper device particularly adapted for prefabrication andstorage in quantity in anticipation of use, for expedient transportationto and installation at a desired position of use and for repetitious usein any desired succession of particular installations.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, our invention consists inthe construction, arrangement, and combination of elements ashereinafter set forth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of aseries of concrete blocks assembled and tied together to make a bumperdevice or curb embodying our invention, the supporting surface for theseries not being flat, so that one ofsaid blocks has dropped to engage alow place on said surface.

FIG. 2 is an end, or axial elevational, view of one of the blocks ofFIG. 1, from which have been removed the tie wires, plates, clamp barsand screws used for tightly tying together a plurality of such blocks,except that here an alternative is shown.

FIG. 3 is a nearly isometric exploded view on a larger scale of a seriesof blocks as in FIG. 1, showing how the parts are united.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical axial sectional view of the series ofFIG. 1 to a larger scale.

FIG. 5 is a detailed nearly isometric view of certain of the connectingelements, such as those seen in FIG. 3 but to a larger scale.

FIG. 6 is a plan of a block, such as shown in FIG. 2, but modified'for acurved arrangement of a series of 15 thereof to turn through DESCRIPTIONOF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in detail, and firstconsidering the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5, there isshown what we call a contour curb 11 built up of a series oflongitudinally apertured and notched concrete blocks 12, or a number ofsuch series of blocks connected together, each block desirably shapedperferably somewhat like a doubly truncated hemisphere or other similarform presenting convex surfaces for engagement by automobile tires. Eachseries of blocks is held together by two heavy durable metal, desirablyaluminum wires 13, the ends of which pass through holes 14 in durablemetal desirably aluminum plates 15 at both ends and durable metal,desirably aluminum, clamp bars 16 at one end. The wires 13 are crimpedor offset laterally at 19, as by suitable means such as a so-calledStakon pliers or other device to put dents in opposite sides thereof.This crimping causes the desired bulging beyond the dents and preventsthe clamp bar 16 from pulling the wire 13 out through the hole in itsplate 15 at one end and the bar at the other, when said wire 13 istensed.

Strong tensile force is applied at one end of each wire 13 by turning inthe durable metal desirably aluminum clamp screws 18 to press theadjacent plate 15 against the nearest block 12 through which the wirespass. One series is connected to the next series in a similar manner,using the other holes for another pair of wires 20, crimped as at 21 andsimilarly tensed at their other ends (not shown) after passing throughthe next series of blocks. An assembled curb 11 is shown stopping carwheels 22in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates how our curb adapts itself to rest on a road ordriveway which is not entirely level. In this figure, the supportingsurface 23 is shown as having a low spot at 23a. The block 12 at thispoint, prior to final tightening of the series, drops from the normallevel of the other blocks to engage the low spot 23a.This means that theblock assembly does not have to be bent to adapt itself to the support,but rather one or more of said blocks is or are depressed or elevated,as the case may be, to accomodate the curb 11 to the surface on whichsupported.

A preferred form of block 12 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 3,supplemented by the showing in the alternatives of FIGS. 2 and 6. InFIG. 6 the ends 24 of the block are not parallel to one another, asshown in the other figures, but lie at small angles. These angles arehere shown as 3 to the transverse central plane, rather than beingparallel to said plane. In a preferred embodiment, the body of the blockhas a flat base 25, the outer surface of the body above said base beinga substantially hemispherical portion generated about the midpoint orcenter 26 of the base, the radius of said portion being about 3%".

This hemispherical portion is terminated at both ends by verticaltruncating planes spaced about 4" apart, that is, 2" on opposite sidesof the center 26 and parallel to one another, leaving flat semicircularend surfaces 24 which are to abut similar surfaces on the adjacentblocks of a series. These end surfaces are each notched, countersunk orindented, as at 27, to provide for the reception of the plates 15 whichare supported on the abutments so provided at said countersinkings 27.

The countersinkings 27 at opposite ends of each block are pierced by apassage 28a (FIG. 2) or a pair of passages 28 (FIG. 3) provided for thereception of the connecting wires 13 and 20. The fonn 12a of FIG. 2 isthe cheaper, while the form 12 of FIG. 3 is stronger. Although we havedescribed the block as desirably of a special shape and size, we do notwish to be limited to a hemispherical shape. Some other shape presentingconvex surfaces desirably approximating hemispherical will suffice. Thesize, although preferred, is not critical as variations one way or theother may be made. The passages 28 desirably flare, from center towardsthe ends, as illustrated, to allow for some canting of the connectingwires 13 and/or with respect thereto.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that our curb does not have to be ofany special length but may be tailored as to length to suit conditions.The curb may be straight, curved, continuous or formed as sections laterconnected as described. The curb may be laid in places desired with nofooting needed. The concrete parts are held in compression, where theirstrength lies, the connecting wires, preferably of aluminum or otherrust-resisting metal for durability, being under tension. Althoughdisclosed mainly for curbs, it will be understood that the means forholding the parts assembled and pressed together may also be employed inother situations, as tie rods for concrete forms.

Having now described our invention in detail in accordance with therequirements of the Patent Statutes, those skilled in this art will haveno difficulty in making changes or modifications in the individual partsor their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements ofconditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the invention, as set forth in thefollowing claims.

We claim:

1. A contour curb especially for motor vehicles comprising, a series ofblocks, means holding an end surface of one block in engagement with anend surface of the adjacent block, and tying all of the blocks in aseries together as a unit including, two wires the ends of which passthrough holes in plates engaging portions of the blocksat both ends ofthe series of blocks, a clamp bar outside one end plate, the ends ofsaid wires which protrude beyond said plates being upset so as not topull through said holes, and a pair of tightening screws threaded intothe clamp bar to bear on said one end plate on opposite sides of thewire therethrough.

2. A contour curb as recited in claim 1, wherein there are means fortying said series of blocks to another series of blocks so held by twoother wires comprising, the ends of said other wires passing throughother holes in the plate engaged by the screws, the ends of the otherwires which protrude through said other holes and beyond said platebeing upset so as not to pull through said holes, and a pair oftightening screws hreaded into each clamp bar adjacent the plate at theother end of the other series on opposite sides of the wiretherethrough,

3. A contour curb as recited in claim 1, wherein for durability thewires are heavy aluminum and the plates, bars and screws are aluminum sothat, upon turning said screws of both bars toward the adjacent plates,the wires are placed under a desired tension to pull the plates toward,and hold, the blocks in tight engagement with one another.

4. A contour curb as recited in claim 1, wherein each block has a flatbase, its sides and top are generally hemispherical and terminated bytruncating planes spaced equal distances from the center of thehemispherical portions and perpendicular to the base, a generallyrectangular passage through each block bordered at top and sides byshoulders providing abutments for the edge portions of said plates.

5. A contour curb as recited in claim 1, wherein each block has its endsdisposed at a slight angle to the block axis so that a series of suchblocks when set up in line will be curved through a relatively largeangle about a desired radius.

6. A contour curb as recited in claim 5, wherein the slight angle is 3,the series is 15 blocks, and the relatively large angle is 7. A concreteblock for assemblage with other like blocks to form a contour curb, thebase of said block being flat and its sides and top being a generallyconvex outer surface, said convex surface being terminated by truncatingplanes spaced equal distances from the center of the convex portion andbeing perpendicular to the base, forming flat end abutment surfacesarcuate in outline to engage associated blocks, and

said block being apertured between said planes, said end surfaces havingcountersunk portions to provide surfaces engageable by connecting means.

8. A concrete block as recited in claim 7, wherein there is a pair oflaterally spaced apertures which are vertically elongated to formpassages for said connecting means.

9. A concrete block as recited in claim 7, wherein the truneating planesare disposed at a slight angle to the block axis so that a series ofsuch blocks when set up in line will be curved through a relativelylarge angle about a desired radius.

10. Apparatus comprising two wires, plates, clamp bars, screws and aplurality of elements held thereby in abutting relationship, under adesired amount of pressure, by the plates contacting the outer faces ofsaid elements, ends of said wires protruding beyond the abuttingelements passing through aligned holes in a first of said plates at oneend and a second of said plates and the clamp bars at the other end,with both ends upset outside of said first plate and said clamp bars,respectively, so as not to pull through said holes, the screws beingthreaded into said clamp bars on opposite sides of the wirestherethrough and engaging the adjacent plate for adjustably pressing iton the adjacent end of said abutting elements.

